Little Brothers to hold annual fundraiser event

HOUGHTON?- Every year Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly holds its annual fundraising event, but this year it’s going to be a little different.

LBFE Executive Director Cathy Kass-Aten said the event will be held at the Continental Fire Company and music group Trees (consisting of Copper Country natives Lindsay Tomasic and Jesse Fitzpatrick)?will be performing a benefit concert.

“That’s exciting to us,” Kass-Aten said. “In addition to the concert we will have hors’dourves, silent and live auction items and we’ll also be bringing back vintage market.”

The vintage market will consist of items for sale, some of which will be repurposed items and some of them will be antiques.

“It just adds to the flavor of the event,” Kass-Aten said. “Not everybody likes to participate in auctions but some people really enjoy having a market where it’s another way for them to contribute to Little Brothers and take something special home with them.”

Grace Backman of Urban Rustic will be helping with the market.

The fundraiser is used to help with operating costs for the non-profit organization. The event will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday with Trees slated to begin performing at 7 p.m. The cost per ticket is $50. People can reserve tickets by calling the Little Brothers office or by stopping in.

“There’s no real deadline to get your name on the list,” Kass-Aten said. “Ideally we’d like to know by the end of this week so we can plan food quantities, but people can still get tickets on the day of the event.”

Kass-Aten said she thinks what Little Brothers does as an organization is very important and the annual fundraiser allows people to come out and have a good time and also contribute to a wonderful cause.

“We’re growing and there is such a need,”?Kass-Aten said. “And we want to be able to reach out to all of our elderly friends.”

For Trees member Lindsay Tomasic, she knows firsthand the work that Little Brothers does and was eager to be able to help out with the fundraiser.

“When my Mom was living in the U.P., Little Brothers was just so amazing with helping my mom,”?Tomasic said. “I?got to know the organization over the years and it’s definitely my personal favorite organization.”?

The fundraiser will also be where Trees will debut a song written specifically for Little Brothers, which the organization hopes to be able to use as a sort of anthem. The song is tentatively called “I?Will Be There.”?This came about when Cathy Kass-Aten and her husband Mike approached Tomasic to see if she’d write a song.

“I was just thrilled at the idea and I?wrote it over the holidays last year,” Tomasic said. “I?just kind of finished it recently.”?